An anti-insurgent provincial governor who had survived Taliban assassination attempts was among 20 people who died on Friday in an explosion at a northern Afghan mosque during prayers, a government official said.

The blast in Afghanistan's Takhar province killed Kunduz provincial governor Engineer Mohammad Omar, who recently sounded an alarm about the threat of insurgents during an interview with CNN.

The bombing also wounded 35 others, with most of those killed and injured engaged in prayer, said Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Zamarai Bashari.

"It is a terrible incident," said Bashari, who said police were trying to find out more details about the strike and who is responsible.

The mosque was bloodied and its roof was shattered, eyewitness Mujib Rahman said, but there were different early accounts on how the strike was carried out.

Gen. Daoud Daoud, commander of the Afghan Interior Ministry's northern zone, said a suicide attacker apparently sitting next to the governor detonated a bomb.

Faiz Mohammad Powhidi, a Takhar governor spokesman, told CNN that a pre-placed mine exploded. He explained that governor had been visiting his family and attending Friday prayers weekly in his native province of Takhar, which borders Kunduz.

Engineer Omar, who was a Pashtun, had survived several assassination attempts by the Taliban, and his brother was slain a few months ago.

He told CNN on Sunday said that for the last two years, the security situation has deteriorated in Kunduz because insurgents decided to destabilize northern Afghanistan, which, until recently, had been relatively stable during the nine-year-old Afghan conflict.

The Takhar blast and the Thursday killing of a German soldier in the north illustrates a growing unrest that contrasts with the first years after the Taliban's collapse in 2001. In those days, the north was much more secure than the predominantly ethnic Pashtun south and east of the country.

Omar told CNN that the insurgents were trying to use Kunduz as a launchpad to destabilize northern Afghanistan and the wider Central Asian region and lamented the lack of police available to battle insurgents.

A coalition soldier was killed in an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan and NATO-led forces killed five armed men in eastern Afghanistan's Khost province. The command is investigating allegations of civilian casualties in the latter incident, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said.

soundoff(135 Responses)

USMC Forever

See, these animals will even kill at and in their holy sites, which means THEIR RELIGION MEANS NOTHING, NOTHING IS SACRED!!!! iT IS NOTHING MORE THAN A PROP. This is the true Taliban, using their BS religion to kill when they do not have any respect for human life or their worthless and weak GOD, allah. Muslims should be ashamed that these pigs hijacked their religion and is now pooping all over it. Good Job Muslims!!!!!!!

Dan Lafayatte....they died on 9/11 in those two buildings and in pentagon too. no one can forget it. yet they do not face a second death. But these evil spirits who was inside those men who flew the planes facing a second death in hell (burning forever . ) why you want to be like them? Brother ...we dont have to fall into their group. we too have same kind of people in my country who are worshiping devil. lots of problems to Christians. yet I focus on my lord and pray. If we are really strong in faith no body can win against us. Do not take revenge. It does not belong to us as the followers of God. But God will take care of them . 3 of my enemies died in a single night when I just prayed . Did not fly a jet in to their houses. I am proud of you because you stand up against the injustice. yet ..believe me brother when God punish it is the end of millions peoples..not thousands. May God be with you..and guide you always!!

I was in-country in 2006 and it was raw greed wild west real estate and arms deals, the Green Zone was a joke, there are only 25,000 Taliban and that's the CIA's own estimate, we have spent $300 B and another $155 B this year and again in 2011, that's $6,500,000 per Taliban PER YEAR, enough to put every Afghan kid through Harvard Medical School, and with 230,000 US troops and mercenary contractors, we can't take out 25,000 Taliban in TEN YEARS? They don't WANT this war over, Karzai's Mob have taken over the country, every resource, ever land deal, a media monopoly, everything controlled by Karzai's as they mruder 100s of tribal chiefs who oppose the central Kabul dictatorship by the Popalzai Tribe. This is PURE war profiteering, you could SMELL it in the air there.
'Scribd.com/doc/33086321/' The whole story, beginning to end, from insider reporting.

Everyone here..please stop fighting... pray for the less fortunate. so many out there suffering . Guys...end is near. floods like Nova"s time. So many earth quakes , then fire burn out massive areas,(like what happened in Gamora and Sadom )
Didn"t Jesus tell what will happen in Israel. It happens. The JESUS come with the people whom he has taken up. Then he comes again and raise the dead. while he was on earth Jesus did so many miracles like his Father. Jesus is same today and forever. He continues to raise the dead again. we have heard what is written in the scroll. It is going to happen. Please pray for Israel as Jesus has asked it to do.when we fight ..we forget what is most important . After lord"s first visit it is going to be really dangerous for seven years (Revelation). Then the second visit and the people who feared lord while living on earth will be raised from dead. (Even the shattered Bones are going to get flesh and come to life) As the signs are there to be seen, lord"s return is near.we must repent and draw near to lord. Read what he has written to seven Churches. Read Timothy, Luke, Mathew,and Ezekiel too.

If i have preached injustice my God will look into that matter. if i am not saying truth My god will make me repent. we leave it in his hands and lets see. As you know God is powerful than any human made weapons. Any language we speak. our most high intelligence too is very stupid (forgive me) front of the Almighty.

If your values are love for mankind and love thy neighbor as thyself I totally agree, but if it it is for possessions then you idolize materialism and do not put God's will first in your life. If I were you I would look into my inner soul and see what is most important, Love for all mankind or love just for those who are like me who have the same beliefs as I do!

I don't know about the bozo who keeps usurping my name,but I believe in God and I know that He hates what we're doing over there as anybody with any moral principles would. We simply have no right to be there!

its all about our values which we cherish...and we will never give them up..despite all conspiracies...its all abt esrael injustice..which we will never accept....i will love to open another talib shop in my city.to protect my life,land ...against invaders.

wow praise god , way to go dan in lafayette that is so correct you hit the nail on the head that is the truth yes , good job , yes and jesus was betrayed by judas and then judas went and hung him self on a tree ,

The Afghan people need to grow a pair and rise up against this insurgency just like we rose up against the British. They have the backing of the most advanced and well trained military in the world and they should take advantage of it. And just curious, but where is the public outcry in the Stan when the Taliban blows up a civilian target, especially a mosque with civies inside? The people of Afghanistan are tough as nails, no doubt about it, but until they can unite against the Taliban we will not win. Now about Pakistan...

The only warmongers are the Taliban and their terrorist allies who blow up places of worship while people are praying! And most likely praying that these killers would give up in their sinful ways of enslaving peoples lives! And I do wish you would use your own name or are you afraid of something?

I wish that this right-wing freak would only quit using my name as well as that of the prophet Mohammed to post his right-wing mumbo-jumbo on this page. In fact,I wish that all these right-wing,warmongering fools would just shut up!!!

washington needs to come down hard on the mercenary traitors in afcan who work for us. They care about the almighty dollar and now that we have proof of their complicate we can charge them with treason or terrores act. Mr peresident it is time to stop apeasing the republicans and do a tap dance on their head no body wants to go back to the bush years,I sure know I don,t
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Dan, Pushing your religeon on us is starting to wear thin, it's bad enough you are going door to door every saturday morning selling the watchtower but now on the internet, C'mon, don't you have anything better to do?

IF THIS IS THE WAY TALIBAN RESPOND TO PEACE TALK ........AFGHAN GOVERNMENT HAS TO TAKE MORE ACTION TO PROTECT INNOCENT CIVILIANS. OTHER WISE TALIBAN MUST PROPOSE SOME AGREEABLE THING WHICH THE CIVILIAN CAN ACCEPT PEACEFULLY.. EVERY ONE OUT SIDE KNOWS THE RULING OF TALIBAN HAS MADE MANY SUFFER INCLUDING WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN AFGHANISTAN.

Dan, I would never post those two comments, although I do agree with them. A comment from me would have been more like, "Hi, I'm from Lafayette and I'm on these blogs to meet guys. Besides being a Taliban supporter I am also trying to come out of the closet, stop by and see me sometime at the Blue Oyster, ask for Dan." Salaam.

I did not post any of these comments down here but as I said above to those that are lying and using my name for their own enjoyment they too are sinning and as God had said when you sin at one thing you sin all sins! So I would think twice before I lie and make myself out to be someone else!

1. Back Ground: Export of terrorism is a well established industry in Pakistan. Any terrorism event in any part of the world has links in Pakistan whether direct participation or providing training. This industry takes care of foreign exchange needs of the country. Foreign ministers of leading powers bring billions of Dollars on platter to appease those in different centres of the power in the country. The major amount of free foreign exchange gets pocketed by the Military and elite politicians. The balance for buying arms for Taliban to fight western troops and cash to Taliban. Very little of the aid money goes for poverty alleviation or development. Seeds of this industry were sown by General Zia ul Haque when radicalisation of the Army started. Over 10,000 madarsa are basic feeder to the industry. It is in public knowledge that 500,000 young boys graduate out of these Madrasas every year who are fully indoctrinated. All of them are not able to get gainful employment. Economic compulsions force them to join over 40 known terrorist training camps another 10 not known to the world. These training centres train about 10,000 suicide bombers every year. The Pakistan army considers this to be their strategic asset. This has been admitted on media over the years. Kashmir can absorb limited number of terrorists. The balance go and join the Taliban, Sudan and all other hot spots in the world. Western powers have been in knowledge of these camps for many years. They were sitting like a pigeon with closed eyes that this cat is showing eyes only to India and they are safe. Unfortunately,their assumption was wrong. Today, western power in the world are worried that it is hard to defeat these forces. Pakistan's intelligence services (ISI) is actively involved in funding and providing weapons and cash to Taliban. They do take small collateral damages by sending suicide bombers in their own country to convince the western powers that they are equal victims of terrorism. They have been acting as "Double Agents" since the days of Gen Musharraf and continue to do so. Very few people in the world would know that Pakistan Army has its own bank and many industries like sugar industry to fund clandestine activities. They are very much part of the narcotics trade and the money goes to fund illegal arms. They are part of the nuclear proliferation. Nuclear scientist Abdul Kadeer is just a whipping boy. He was never allowed to be interviewed by US intelligence. All nuclear exports were done to tide over foreign exchange financial crises and fund terrorism. There is no ambiguity about who holds the power in Pakistan . It is ISI as a separate autonomous power centre and Pakistan Army who hold the real power. The civilian government and judiciary are just a fig leaf of power centres. Let us assume for a moment that peace prevails in AF – PAK Border. All terrorist training camps are closed down. In that eventuality, ISI and Pakistan Army would become irrelevant. Billions of dollar of cash aid would stop. Therefore, it is an open secret that ISI and Pak Army for their survival would like this scenario to continue. Western world has to live with this scenario. They best effort can be to contain this menace.

2. Options available: Western world has to keep getting Pakistan cooperation with carrots in hand for them. All aid must be in terms of goods rqeuired by them and not free foreign exchange. Free foreign exchange goes to ISI who pays these Dollars to Taliban to kill NATO forces. Therefore, free foreign exchange to Pakistan goes to decimate its own effort in AF-PAK region. Along side Pakistan has to be conforted with proofs of ISI involvement in supporting Taliban . All terrorist camps whether directed against India or any other nation must be closed down. It is not difficult to identify these camps through satelites or other means. There has to be zero tolerance to narcotics trade in AF-PAK. All poppy crop must destroyed though areal spray. Intelligence system must be strengthened to know about clandestine narcotics laboratories whether in Afghanistan or Pakistan. Similar approach has to be for clandestine arms bazaars, There has to be zero tolerance for the illegal arms trade. They must be destroyed using predators. The sources of arms supply have to identified. High seas and ports have to be closely monitored to prevent any modern weaponry or ammunition reaching the conflict zone. Also watchful eye on remittance channels is required. Alternative, channels for logistics support to troops must be gradually built to reduce dependence any one country.

3. Socio Economic considerations: Western countries must draw up a plan to make Afghanistan an economically independent and strong country. UNICEF be asked to open schools in the areas which have been sanitised by NATO troops. Indonesia, Malaysia, India could be asked to open primary and secondary schools under UNICEF program. Participating countries be asked to bear 50% of expenditures. Western nations could built Agriculture university, Technology University and a Medical university. Students from all over the world should be encouraged to attend these first class learning centres Afghanistan should be made a centre for advance learning in Asia. This will go a long way in building a moderate progressive Afghanistan. Similarly, under UN arrangements primary health centres and hospitals be opened, These efforts would go a long way in winning hearts of locals. Agriculture Extension centres be opened to encourage modern farming, Poultry, Meat production and Fisheries. Western Nations should offer subsidy to agriculture produces so that poverty alleviation starts from grass roots. It would be a better idea to have UN sponsered welfare measure to make strong Afghanistan that is like Turkey in the year 2050. Welfare measure would give greater results than the weapons. Unfortunately, it would not be easy to undertake these welfare measures beacuse of powers of terrorism exporting would get decimated who will always oppose social measures.

CS KOHLI

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2. Options available: Western world has to keep getting Pakistan cooperation with carrots in hand for them. All aid must be terms of goods rqeuired by them and not free foreign exchange. Along side they must be conforted with proofs of ISI involvement in supporting Taliban . All terrorist camps whether directed against India or any other nation must be closed down. It is not difficult to identify these camps through sate-lites or other means. There has to be zero tolerance to narcotics trade in AF-PAK. All poppy crop must destroyed though areal spray. Intelligence system must be strengthened to know about clandestine narcotics laboratories whether in Afghanistan or Pakistan. Similar approach has to be for clandestine arms bazaars, There has to be zero tolerance for the illegal arms trade. They must be destroyed using predators. The sources have to identified. High seas and ports have to be closely monitored to prevent any modern weaponry or ammunition reaching the conflict zone. Also watchful eye on remittance channels is required. Alternative, channels for logistics support to troops must be gradually built to reduce dependence any one country.

3. Socio Economic considerations: Western countries must draw up a plan to make Afghanistan an economically independent and strong country. UNICEF be asked to open schools in the areas which have been sanitised by NATO troops. Indonesia, Malaysia, India could be asked to open primary and secondary schools under UNICEF program. Participating countries be asked to bear 50% of expenditures. Western nations could built Agriculture university, Technology University and a Medical university. Students from all over the world should be encouraged to attend these first class learning centres Afghanistan should be made a centre for advance learning in Asia. This will go a long way in building a moderate progressive Afghanistan. Similarly, under UN arrangements primary health centres and hospitals be opened, These efforts would go a long way in winning hearts of locals. Agriculture Extension centres be opened to encourage modern farming, Poultry, Meat production and Fisheries. Western Nations should offer subsidy to agriculture produces so that poverty alleviation starts from grass roots. It would be a better idea to have UN sponsered welfare measure to make strong Afghanistan that is like Turkey in the year 2050. Welfare measure would give greater results than the weapons. Unfortunately, it would not be easy to undertake these welfare measures beacuse of powers of terrorism exporting would get decimated.

Dan, Really, then why are there millions (or more) killed in God's name, whether it's God, Allah or whatever? I presume they are all sinners of course. Got another dumb question for you, why is it "God Fearing" when God is suppossed to be kind and just?

Those like the crusaders and now Islamic radicals to force their God upon others! Faith cannot be forced into ones life it is something that has to come by choice, hence God's freedom of will! As for fear of God, if we do not fear Him for our actions then we have people like the terrorists who believe that they are doing God a favor by killing people who do not have the same beliefs! If they had the fear of God in them they would not be killing innocent people!

The Taliban supporters will always say that we're the bad guys. Yet, they kill anyone that does fall into their grips. Their cowards at best. And, we're kickin their' butts and now they want to talk? give us bin laden or buy you're tickets to Allah...

Either Bin Laden is dead are living in Texas with the Bush's!!! They are running out of places to hide... They are losing ground in both Afghanistan and Pakistan!!! Why do You think They want to talk PEACE???

when the Afghan president want peace talk ,here they reply to him so loudly. It was same with LTTE in our country those days. when government invite for peace talks they blast something with people. Taliban dont want anything but their old ways of ruling the country. This incident proves it. Afghan military must take care of this problem if they need to see a better Afghanistan. US cant be there forever..ACTUALLY civilized world cant understand why anyone attack when people are worshiping . this is sick mentality.

Why do You think We are training Their Troops and Police!!! By the end of next year We should be able to do with them... Like We did with Iraq!!! The problem is You Idiots want things done when You want them done... Not when it is realistic to be done!!!

Maybe this governor Mohammed Omar should have thought twice about collaborating with the NATO Occupation Forces and this might possibly not have happened. By the way,would you mind not usurping my name???

I don't see where you got the idea that I see the Taliban as friends, they are the worse bunch of animals that would kill their own family members if they did not follow their insane sixth century sharia laws!

It just shows that the Tarriest doesn't care who They kill are where... They don't even have any respect for Their own Mosques!!! Now Maybe the Afghanistan People will think twice about helping These Killers???

The Afghan people need to grow a pair and rise up against this insurgency just like we rose up against the British. They have the backing of the most advanced and well trained military in the world and they should take advantage of it. And just curious, but where is the public outcry in the Stan when the Taliban blows up a civilian target, especially a mosque with civies inside? The people of Afghanistan are tough as nails, no doubt about it, but until they can unite against the Taliban we will not win. Now about Pakistan...

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Afghanistan Crossroads is where CNN's reporting converges -- bringing you a diversity of voices, stunning images and video, global perspectives and the latest news from on the ground in Afghanistan and around the world.